Toronto elementary school teachers to strike on Dec. 18: TDSB

TDSB service vans and trucks sit idle in a parking lot on Wednesday, July 11, 2012. (Corey Baird/CTV Toronto)

The Canadian Press
Published Thursday, December 13, 2012 5:30PM EST
Last Updated Thursday, December 13, 2012 9:17PM EST

TORONTO -- The Toronto District School Board says its elementary teachers will be staging a one-day walkout on Tuesday.

The school board -- the province's largest -- announced the planned walkout on Twitter and its website on Thursday afternoon.

The TDSB says it's awaiting official notification from the union and will announce its plans as soon as information becomes available.

A letter explaining the current situation regarding the elementary teachers was sent home with all elementary and junior high school students earlier this week.

The Toronto teachers have been in a legal strike position since Dec. 10, and teachers have not been participating in field trips, play days or voluntary and extra-curricular activities.

The Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario has not yet confirmed that the teachers with the Toronto board will strike on Dec. 18 to show their opposition to Bill 115, but says it will give 72-hours notice of any strike.

The union maintains it is trying to roll back the new anti-strike law that gives the government the power to impose a new collective agreement.

If teachers don't reach local deals with their school boards by Dec. 31, the province will impose one that will freeze the wages of most instructors and cut their benefits, such as the number of sick days they're allowed to take each year.

The governing Liberals have said they will not intervene while the walkouts are kept to one-day protests.